The Perfect Birthday Gifts

This year I received two unexpected dolls as birthday gifts and several surprise doll ornaments, pins, and accessories.

Birthday Joy Wendy, style #75120, was introduced in 2019. 

Inside birthday Joy Wendy's sheer bubble skirt are several multicolored floral-shaped pieces of confetti.

Birthday Joy Wendy by Madame Alexander was one of my birthday dolls. Sometime during 2020, I told my friend, Debra, that this doll was missing from my Happy Birthday (HBD) Wendy collection. (See my other HBD Wendy's on the left here and in a group picture here). Birthday Joy Wendy was included in my gifts from Debra this year. She also sent several non-doll-related gifts that I cherish.

Because I have expressed my fascination for Ucanaan's BJD seen most recently here and in other recent posts, two members of my doll group (Cheryl Bruce and Phyllis Burns) gave me a male UCanaan BJD. Surprised, thrilled, elated, are just a few words to describe my heartfelt gratitude and delight for their gesture. 

Trenton is seen with a bag of doll goodies that Phyllis said she had been collecting for me for a while. (How wonderful is that?)

Trenton is seen alone in this photo and in a headshot next.

Trenton, whose name on the Ucanaan box appears to be Anshen, is seen in a closeup. 

He'll be back again with his sister later. 

These are the other goodies that were in the package with Trenton.

Birthday cards and a thank you card were in Trenton's shipping box. The baggie from Phyllis contained several doll ornaments and doll pins/brooches by Daisy Carr. There was one pin by Michelle Green and a handmade beaded pin in the baggie. Additionally, an "I Love Dolls" bracelet, a "Dolls Dolls Dolls" bracelet, and an "I love dolls" pin-back were included.

A doll ornament (far left) and doll pins are seen in this close-up photograph.

Two doll ornaments, bracelets, and the pin-back are seen better in this close-up photograph

The pins will be added to my denim pin vest.

Thank you, Debra, Phyllis, and Cheryl for making my birthday celebration extra special. I've always known that only another doll collector can give the perfect gifts to a fellow doll collector.

dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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Tina's Newest Wig

Tina wears a wig by Tonner made for Lizette.

Tina tried this wig on the day she arrived when the above photograph was taken. This wig was supposed to be an Afro wig for Tonner's All-Natural Lizette. Lizette only wore it once before I stored it with similar-size wigs. While stored, the coils and curls had gone flat. 

Plan A

While contemplating whether I should buy Tina an Afro wig or make one for her using my saved hair, I decided to do the latter and cut the hair from the Tonner wig and use that wig cap to apply my saved hair.

Instead of following through with Plan A (to make a wig using the Tonner wig cap), Plan B ensued.

Plan B

I lifted the fibers of the Tonner wig with a plastic bristle brush with widely spaced bristles to create the desired Afro for Tina. The process of lifting the fibers loosened the curl pattern to create more natural-textured fluffed-out fibers.

Tina models her new-to-her wig below.

This doesn't look like the same wig as seen in the first picture, does it?

Full view

From the back

Her hair accessory has been added.

I think she likes it.

I like it.

Yes, she likes it.

Thanks to the fluffed-out Tonner wig that now looks great on Tina, I'll get to use my baggie of hair for something else. 

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Buy Links for Barbie Looks AA Ken and Others

Barbie Looks dolls

The following information is shared from You Love It dot com with photos captured from the Internet.

Barbie Looks AA Ken; isn't he handsome?

Barbie Looks Brunette AA Ken is available for pre-order: Barbie Looks Brunette AA Ken (GXL14) is available for pre-order! You can get it here: https://amzn.to/3hNtTDs  Be quick. The Looks dolls are selling out fast. But don't worry if the doll becomes out of stock, he will be available again, come back and check the link. 

Other dolls in collection and links for preorder.

Curvy AA: https://amzn.to/3ufTsiS
Tall Blonde: https://amzn.to/3ysFttd
Original Brunette: https://amzn.to/3hH4hbe
Petite short hair: https://amzn.to/3fBR8gQ
Blonde Ken: https://amzn.to/3v4Ln1G

More pictures of the AA dolls:

Curvy AA Looks is gorgeous too!

I hope you're able to find the ones you want, but it might be a challenge.

BTW, I've enabled comments to blog posts. 

dbg

When You Love What You Have

Instagram (IG) photo of a doll made by @fandollshop

This IG post by @jaylasheirlooms was captioned: "When you love everything you have, you have everything you need." I love that!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jayla’s Heirlooms (@jaylasheirlooms)

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Ucanaan New Wig, Redress, New Name

Paulette Goodreau's BJD Mirror in Cocoa complexion and Ucanaan's 1/6 BJD in brown complexion

This was supposed to be a quick post for my Ucanaan BJD to show the new wig I ordered for her. The new clothes I ordered had not arrived at the time I drafted this post, but they are here now, so I've added photos of her modeling the clothes. 

First, she's shown above in the last wig she wore that was borrowed from Goodreau's BJD that wears a dark brown Lizette wig that is not as flattering on her as the wig the Ucanaan doll borrowed. These wigs are shown above and below.

The Ucanaan doll wears part of a handmade '60s flower-power-inspired fashion (the Goodreau doll is dressed in a goth Teen Trends fashion).

In the next two pictures, Cocoa wears her preferred wig and the Ucanaan doll wears her new burgundy wig.

Both girls look better in their own wigs.

Full-length photo of the two wearing their own wigs

Cocoa requested that I never allow anyone else to wear any of her wigs, especially this one.

The new wig is a size 7/8; it fits the Ucanaan doll's head as it should and better than most of the size 6/7 wigs I already had.

Unfortunately, it's a bit too long but will be good for restyling.

The poncho she wears here was also handmade along with the top and pants this girl wears.

More Wigs

Just for fun, she tried on two more size 6/7 wigs that I already had. She settled on wearing her original wig with the poncho fashion.

This curly brown wig has bangs. It can be worn loose, as shown, or in two side ponytails. It would be more becoming on her with two ponytails.

This brown snug-fitting mohair wig has two thin braids on each side.

She wears her original wig in this photo.

While this post was in draft mode for about two weeks, two additional outfits arrived for Tina... her name is Tina. 

Most Recent Redresses

New clothes

Tina's two new fashions are a schoolgirl ensemble and a spring/summer suspender skirt fashion. Each fashion included a skirt, blouse, over-the-knee tights, hair accessory, necktie, and panties. The schoolgirl fashion also included a knit sweater. Neither fashion included shoes. The shoes were purchased separately.

Tina models the schoolgirl fashion and looks adorable in it.

She posed once from the back, which also illustrates how her original wig looks from that angle.

Finally, Tina tried on the pink suspender skirt ensemble. She looks equally adorable in it.

Since it's spring and almost summer, Tina will wear the cute pink suspender skirt for now. Will there be more redressing? No doubt! Will Tina get a friend? Maybe.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

What's the Value of My Doll?

A variety of dolls made or manufactured by Black doll artists or manufacturers

Those seeking to learn the worth of what they deem a possible valuable Black doll have often posed the question to me:  "What is the value of my [fill in any doll's name]?  If the doll's name is unknown, the question is usually, "Can you help me identify this doll and tell me how much it's worth?" 

Ways to identify and determine the value of a doll vary.  Below are a few suggestions:

1. Up-to-date doll reference books that identify and value dolls is the best starting point.   I have authored two Black-doll reference and value guides, but of course, there are others.  Myla Perkins’ books:  Black Dolls: An Identification and Value Guide books 1 and 2 are quite comprehensive and reference a wide variety of Black dolls made from the late-1800s through the early-1990s.  However, her values were assessed over 20 years ago when the doll market was more stable.  When using doll reference books it must be noted that the assessed values are considered "book value" and are not necessarily the prices at which dolls will sell in the current market. 

A.  If you are not in the market to purchase doll reference, check your local library where doll books may be available to check out. 
B.  If you own a Kindle, there may be doll value guides available for borrowing through Amazon.com.

2.  Searching eBay for completed auctions of the same doll or similar doll to note what buyers are paying in today’s market is another way to determine the average selling price.

3. Seeking help from local certified doll appraisers or antiques dealers is also an avenue for determining a doll’s worth, but this will usually be accompanied by their fees.

4.  I do not conduct free doll appraisals, but I have conducted compensated appraisals in the past for insurance purposes, to help a collector determine the donated value of an entire collection, and for individuals who are willing to pay my fees. Read more here if you'd like me to help identify and/or assess a value for your doll.   

The bottom line when trying to determine the value of a doll or other collectible is this:  A doll's book value (assessed value documented in a doll reference book) or appraised value is to be used as a guide, not as the price at which a doll should be purchased or sold.  Furthermore, a doll is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it at a given time. 

This post was written and published to share the link to my Black Doll Identification and Value Services page for those who wonder,  "What's the value of my doll?"

dbg

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Blogger End is Near

Around 1 a.m. today, 5/15/21, I read several emails from Blogger informing me that several of my blog posts had been removed. The emails stated the posts were against their malware rules. What? No additional explanation was given. The posts were removed... zapped, no longer on the Internet anywhere.

Most of the posts were old posts about B@rbie and So in Style dolls, but I don't know why they would have been considered in violation of Blogger's rules or suspected of being malware. 

My post about Where to Find Black Dolls is one that I spent a lot of time and research compiling as a service to collectors who focus on collecting Black dolls. The removal of that post without providing me an opportunity to correct anything that was against their rules was and remains very disheartening.

A few posts, written before receiving these notifications, are in draft mode. I will publish those posts within the next couple of weeks. After that, I must seriously consider whether or not I will risk Blogger's unreasonable censorship of my writing about my hobby and just focus my time on DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum posts hosted by WordPress and/or move my Black Doll Collecting posts to that platform.

I drafted this post immediately after discovering what Blogger had done. I wanted to add an image, so I left the post in draft mode for several hours until I found a suitable picture to add. About five hours later, I received several emails involving the removed posts that informed me that "after review," the posts have "been reinstated." My emotions are mixed because they never should have been removed.

I feel violated and might still move this blog to WordPress where arbitrary algorithmic or human censorship should never be a problem.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Barbie Big City Big Dreams Brooklyn

Barbie Big City Big Dreams* Brooklyn arrived in her cellophane and cardstock box.

The back of the box shows two Barbies playing guitars in a nighttime, big-city setting.

Close-up of the illustration on the back of the box

It was the braids and freckles that prompted my purchase of not one but two Black Barbie Big City Big Dreams dolls.

Fashions and accessories for Brooklyn to try on

The fashion she arrived wearing was basic, so I pulled out a few alternative clothes, shoes, and accessories for the new girl to try on including a fat quarter of Black History Month Coiffed Crowns fabric that Instagrammer @vesta2556 informed me about.

First, Brooklyn modeled a Sparkle Girlz dress with black Barbie shoes. I pierced her ears and added Swarovski crystal stud earrings.

Brooklyn's earrings and freckles are seen better in this enhanced photo.

Next, she tried on a denim dress with white Barbie flats.

This denim Barbie fashion is worn with a pair of silver mock-lace-up shoes. The jeans show off her muscular legs.

She paired the same fashion with gold Barbie sandals.

Just as I was about to remove this outfit, Brooklyn struck this pose. Well alright now.

Still posing...

Using the fat quarter of the Black History Month Coiffed Crowns fabric, I fashioned a simple dress for Brooklyn to wear.

Instead of sewing the seams, I used Stitch Witchery and one snap on the side underneath her arm to make the otherwise no-stitch dress shown above and below.

The dress has a side slit. The gold strappy sandals complement it nicely.

I added ear wires to two gold discs removed from dangle earrings to create doll-size earrings. Her gold choker is a metal braid ornament.

Before the new girl arrived, I thought her head sculpt was the same as Nighttime Glamour's (on the left), but she uses a new head sculpt that has the copyright year of 2020.

Made-to-Move Barbie would be a good body fit for Brooklyn's head.

If I decide to re-body Brooklyn, Made-to-Move Barbie's body would be a good complexion match. Someone on Instagram used Gabby Douglas Barbie's body, but I am not willing to sacrifice either of my Gabby Douglas dolls' bodies for this doll. For now, she is going to keep her muscular body. (But that permanently bent arm on the original body might make me change my mind about re-bodying her sooner rather than later.)

She decided to continue wearing the dress I made for her. I think she made an excellent choice, but it's good to know she has suitable options.

*According to YouLoveIt dot com, Barbie Big City Big Dreams is an upcoming animated movie that will be released on Netflix in fall 2021.

Barbie travels to New York City to attend a summer performing arts program and meets—Barbie! Barbie Roberts from Brooklyn is captivating, eclectic, and has been blessed with Beyoncé's voice and Michelle Obama's poise. The two become fast friends, while competing to see which Barbie has what it takes to land the coveted spotlight solo!

Both main characters of the movie, Brooklyn and Malibu Barbie, have been released by Mattel as a singing doll and the regular version (like the doll shown in this post). Singing Brooklyn wears a fashion like the one illustrated on the back of the box. Read more about both dolls, here. 

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!